My husband bought me a Drive Go Go Sport 4-wheel for heavy-duty use because we live on a dirt road and it seems heavy duty enough to go on the dirt road and get me to the pond to swim. But I need something light weight that I can get in and out of the car and take with me for scooting around the office and conferences for work. I see a lot of different costs from $500 (Shoprider Echo 3), the Luggie - as costly as the SmartScoot, and of course your recommendation for the SmartScoot. What makes the SmartScoot worth the expensive cost?

Hannah, scooters are just plain expensive. All of the lightweight versions hover over $2,000 (SmartScoot, TravelScoot, Luggie). The Shoprider logs in at over 70lbs, so it is not in the same category, hence the price difference. Heck, I would like an even lighter scooter, but that would mean even higher end components like carbon fiber.... and a likely price tag of over $5K. Yikes!

The 3 wheel was recommended by the local surgical supply store. It's a reputable store, but the person who handles power equipment sales is not disabled. He liked the maneuverability of the 3 wheel model. The few reviews I've read suggest that while neither will hand hills very well, the 4 wheel may be OK on gravel and grass, which would be nice, while the 3 wheel is best on smooth surfaces only. Both can be dismantled for transport (also important for me), for car and airline transport, with the heaviest piece on the 4 wheel about 35 lbs. Does anyone have experience with these models who could offer an opinion regarding the Scooter itself as well as the 3 vs 4 wheel option? Thanks. Diane

I'm seriously considering buying a smartscoot, and wanted to see if you still recommend it 2 years after the original thread started. I'm going on a cruise to Alaska at the end of August, and think it might be helpful. I have not had to use mobility aids yet, but the time is fast approaching, and this scooter seems to be exactly what I'm looking for.

For me personally, it's complicated. I still dig the SmartScoot, and it does many things well. But. It is a scooter to aid in your mobility, it's not a mobility scooter per se. So as my disability has increased, my use of this particular scooter has ironically decreased. The reason?

Due in part to a knee injury, I can only use my forearm crutches for short distances. That means I need to rely on another mode of transport. The scooter is great to get me to places, but not great for sitting and enjoying, say, a meal. A wheelchair is better suited for that task (especially as even transferring has gotten harder). And when only one fits comfortably in my car at a time, the WC usually gets the nod.

It sounds like the SS would be a good fit for you. Perhaps others will chime in? But don't delay too much, as your cruise is approaching!

Using your recommendation as a bench mark:
I did bit of additional research, I found a scooter: the SnapnGo that has a few feature advantages over the Smartscoot otherwise the specs are fairly close. The price is a little cheaper too. But as you wrote, there is no perfect scooter, this one aint too bad.

A 7 day Disney cruise.
With my MS mobility issues I had hoped I wouldn’t have to rely on it as much as I did, but frankly I couldn’t have done it without the scooter. There was much more walking than expected and it saved my bacon.

I received many positive comments from guests and even crew members made inquiries about it. One lady riding the traditional “tank” scooter rode up to me as I waited for my wife outside a Cozumel shop wanted information about it as she was annoyed with the bulkiness of her ride. She and her husband were impressed by the way the Snap n Go took so little space and got around so well. Space is tight on ships so every millimeter counts.

My walking cane was either bungeed into the seat holder tube along the base or upright with the handle bars.

Amazingly, It fit into our stateroom closet seat and all. The battery handled daily loads with ease with occasional recharges at night. In Grand Cayman I rode mostly on sidewalks, but at one point I had to ride along traffic which it handled well at L3 for a full speed sprint to get in and out of the way. No horns or curses from the locals. Turning on the lights added visibility.

Now for the minuses:
1) One word: TORQUE
Inclines if not handled properly are a problem.
Simply riding up an incline greater than 10º from a standing start is dicy. It would sometimes stutter and struggle making it necessary for someone to help push.
Gangways boarding and onto launches can be as much as 15º to 20º.

A little embarrassing.

After some experience depending on what I was up against - I found momentum was the key. Taking a long wind up with the throttle set at 3 basically solved it. But making sure people and especially kids (Disney) were out of the way required me to yell warnings.

Keeping my language in check was a challenge...

2) Reverse gear.
Even on level surface it was hit and miss. Sometimes it worked fine, others it would just grind doing nothing and I had to push myself out. Reversing out of elevators was a bit stressful. I would say this was its biggest problem.

Overall I would grade its performance a solid 95%. It was a great companion and well worth the purchase price.

I have heard of tons of reviews about multiple scooters but let me tell you SmartScoot (the one which admin reviewed) and the Triaxe Series i.e. Triaxe Tour and Triaxe Sports are THE BEST! I don't wanna brag but yeah those are the ones which I LOVE...